To Workout or Not To Workout...with a Cold

The last week and a half has proven difficult for me. I started feeling ill a week and a half ago, as if I was starting to get a head cold. But I decided to fight through it. I was going to fight this cold till the end. The first few days, I thought I was winning. Boy was I wrong. Suddenly, BAM! It hit me like a ton of bricks. I have been out of commission all week and am still recovering. I know most of you have been in this similar situation. What makes this hard for me is that I have broken my daily exercise routine that I so desperately worked hard to maintain. For some, this might not seem like a big deal. But for someone who struggles with maintaining a healthy lifestyle, this was like hitting a brick wall.   

I decided to do some research on whether it was beneficial to work out while sick or just relax and let your body heal. In doing my research, many sources stated to trust your body and the way it feels. They also suggested continuing your workout routine as long as your cold was from the neck up. With that, I decided to push myself so I could maintain my workout routine. Lord knows it took me months to establish my daily workout routine. I didn’t want a silly little cold to get in the way. Unfortunately, I made the wrong decision. I pushed myself for three solid days just to be hit with major flu like symptoms completely rendering me helpless. I couldn’t go to work. I didn’t have the energy to do anything. I was stuck at home bound to my couch for days feeling absolutely miserable and useless. This also did not help my eating routine. I found myself losing track of my daily eating habits. I was so exhausted that I didn’t have the energy to prepare my meals for the week ahead of time. I was also miserable to the point where I didn’t have the energy to stand in the kitchen to cook dinner for my family. Needless to say, we ordered out the majority of the week. Once again I found myself miserable due to illness but I also noticed I was even more miserable on the days after we ate out. I felt heavy and run down. Instead of feeding my body right so I could rebuild my immune system, I fed my body trash. I guess in a way, I figured if I was going to feel this miserable, then what difference did it make. After three or four days of eating whatever I wanted, my body was screaming at me. I knew that I just needed to stop. It’s a hard realization to come to grips with but I made a vow when I started this fitness journey to be honest with myself and with what I share with others. You won’t find any “sugar coating” here. I made poor decisions and I needed to own up to them, not wallow in them. It is what it is. You can’t change the past but you can change the future.  

I now know from experience that I should have listened to my body and let it have time to recover. I should have also maintained my healthy eating so I could feed my body the food it needed to aid in my recovery. Now, instead of missing a couple of workouts, I have missed a week’s worth. So my advice would be to listen to how your body feels and make your decision from there. I’m not saying use being sick as an excuse to skip a workout or two which can lead into three or more. All I’m saying is give yourself some time to recover if you feel you need it. But stay focused and maintain your goals so when you feel better, you can jump right back in the game. Falling off the wagon doesn’t have to be permanent. Like I tell my kids when they fall down, pick yourself up and shake it off! That is just what I plan to do.

Happy and Healthy Living,
Neisha